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Bob Woodward
David Ignatius argues in his new column that congressional Republicans are the "primary culprits" in the sequestration mess, and it's time for President Obama to step up. How? Obama "should take the steering wheel firmly in hand and drive the car toward the destination where most maps show we need to be heading.... It's time for an intervention, to take the keys away."
Got it. But before we move on, perhaps someone can remind me: how is this legal?
I don't mean to be a stickler for details, but we live in a constitutional system in which there's a rule of law. Congress has the sole power to allocate funds and lay taxes. To be sure, the legislative branch is acting with breathtaking recklessness, acting against the nation's interests, but the last time I checked, there is no legal mechanism in place that allows the executive branch to "take the keys away" from the legislative branch. Indeed, I believe that would be fairly characterized as a coup.
My point is not to pick on Ignatius, whose frustrations I share. My point is that many exasperated pundits, when they're not reflexively and unfairly blaming "both sides" for Washington's ills, have also abandoned Civics 101. Ignatius would like to see Obama take away Congress' power of the purse; Ron Fournier thinks Obama can issue orders that Congress must follow, and Bob Woodward thinks the president should simply start ignoring federal laws.
"Can you imagine Ronald Reagan sitting there and saying 'Oh, by the way, I can't do this because of some budget document?'" Woodward said Wednesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"Or George W. Bush saying, 'You know, I'm not going to invade Iraq because I can't get the aircraft carriers I need' or even Bill Clinton saying, 'You know, I'm not going to attack Saddam Hussein's intelligence headquarters,' as he did when Clinton was president because of some budget document?" Woodward added. "Under the Constitution, the president is commander-in-chief and employs the force. And so we now have the president going out because of this piece of paper and this agreement, I can't do what I need to do to protect the country. That's a kind of madness that I haven't seen in a long time."
There's some "madness" on display, all right, but I don't think it's coming from the White House.
In this case, Woodward is outraged because the deep sequester cuts to the Pentagon have interfered with the deployment of the U.S.S. Harry Truman, which will remain stateside due to budget constraints.
For Woodward, there's no reason for the president to be limited by a "piece of paper" or "some budget document." What the journalist is referring to, however, is a little something known as the current law of the United States.
In other words, Bob Woodward -- who used to go after presidents for breaking the law -- went on national television this morning to condemn a sitting president for not ignoring federal law.
In Woodward's mind, President Obama should simply blow off legal constraints, because it's only written on a "piece of paper." I wonder what Woodward might have said 40 years ago if Nixon defended his actions by saying it would be "madness" for a president to feel limited by laws written on "pieces of paper."
I really don't know what's gotten into Woodward lately, but it's a genuine shame. The man is a legendary journalist, but he clearly has some kind of unusual contempt for President Obama, and it's leading him to make some alarming errors of fact and judgment.
I can only hope Woodward pauses, takes stock, considers his recent missteps, and gets back on track.
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Once again, with a press and media this dumb, is it any wonder the country has the problems it does. The country simply would not -- COULD NOT -- have the problems it does had it a competent, responsible press. The malignancy of the Republican party could not exist, ...
The biggest problem we have is the utter awfulness of the press and media.
Well argued. Whether we agree or disagree, follow the law.
I envision a child laying down on the floor and screaming, kicking legs, thrashing arms.
We need to get our way, or else…
This child represents the TPubs acting like brats, not getting their President, their tax plan, their cuts…
One minute they are children thrashing or disrupting class. The next a mafia member, holding a gun to head or cutting off the country's digits.
You people are amazing.....you eat your young I imagine.....the guy who took down Nixon....a registered Democrat.....and now that his propensities that make him a true reporter/writer are not trashed for some political gain, or a contorted ideology he feels he must cling to, you now hate the guy for telling the truth just like he did with Nixon.....you just don't like the truth when it's thrown in your face and applied equally to your own positions or leadership............You people are a bigger problem than Obama himself........enjoy the pablum.....
Please provide your definition of "telling the truth" as it relates to what Woodward is saying here. For that matter, please explain how following Woodward's truthy advice here would not be illegal? Bonus points for describing the demure, non-sh!t-losing reaction you would have if Obama did follow Woodward's advice, i.e. knowingly ignore a U.S. law that he signed.
And I would point out that Woodward being a Democrat has nothing to do with his ability to be wrong. Or with other people - even Democrats! - pointing that out.
Hint: Starting a sentence with "You people...." is not a way to make friends and influence people.
Thank you for the daily demonstration of how ignorant and illiterate and just plain stupid one has to be, to be one of you pieces of something I scrape off my shoe.
Back to Wacko World little boy, your sheep miss you and your behind on the fornication quota for the day.
As someone in the retirement generation you should consider some personal reflection on how you and your peers are now contributing to the problems that will plague this country for generations while we sort out the mess your wholly irresponsible generation has gifted on the United States.
Before you miss this point, let me make it clear as bell for you. The US Senate currently has only 10 members born after 1963, the rest are Baby Boomers and older.
Your generation has been in control of the government for 30 years, and you've done very little to prepare for the onslaught of retirement aged people about to bury our country in debt but to pass tax cuts and demand more for the government and the free market. Cheap credit, spending at will and an environmental policy that may well be the undoing of us all.
Now the solution is cut "entitlements" but not for your generation only the for the next generation of retirees while at the same time DEMANDING that this same group pay your bills for your retirement.
At some point soon the people paying all the bills are going to figure out we've been swindled and your generation will be placed in the esteem it deservers, that of selfish, foolish and destructive.
If we need to make cuts, I propose we all get into the same life boat together. You want cuts, let's start with your generation, and spare the song and dance of how you counted on this, you paid for it. I'm going to pay for you and get less. Living longer is now a punishment for the next generation but a reward for your generation. Cuts for all is a good place to begin this conversation, try to be less selfish for once.
I have no problem with cuts to SS and Medicare as long as the government pays back all of the money it borrowed from the account first. Any chance of that happening? Where do you think W got the money for his f-ing wars?
I have to say how utterly disgusted I am by all the Boomer blaming.
Yes, pay it all back and hand me a lump sum. But no, I wouldn't do that to the future generations that would then have NO safety net. They believe that Wall St. would never crash (ahem). I have no confidence in Wall St whatsoever.
At least the federal government defaulting USED to be a very worst case scenario.
Everyone calm down. Woodward isn't saying Obama needs to break the law. All he's saying is that Obama needs to sit down for drinks with Zombie Tip 'n' Ronnie, cut the Gordian knot in two with his sword and hammer out some bipartisan consensus. Really, people, is it all that difficult?
Oh no, Steve, feel free to pick on David Ignatius.
Aside from a slight swipe at the GOP, that column is full of the same Beltway accepted "wisdom" that we MUST cut SS and Medicare with modest revenue increases.
The same "wisdom"that Democrats wanted America to fail in Iraq so its practically the same thing that the GOP wants low income seniors to go hungry.
And David's plaintive cry of "what has happened to the Republican party" ALMOST made me laugh. Isn't David's job description to observe political realities? Putz
Quick, somebody call search and rescue, the Republicans are lost in the wilderness!
Wait , cancel that call.
"But before we move on, perhaps someone can remind me: how is this legal?"
@Steve Benen
In answer to your question, it is not legal. But Obama has drones and Congress does not.
Rach,
why don't you write about the threats he is receiving from the Obama whitehouse ...
Perhaps Woodward is not drinking the Obama koolaid like every other journalist and reporter in the country. He hasn't learned that The One dislikes any criticism of his incredible policies and actions ...
I don't care to much for this guy. I don't know how he made it this far.
This is not really that complicated - simply spend some time looking at the New York Times Best Seller list. Start in September and continue to February. Woodward's book makes the top 10 for a month then plunges to oblivion by the first of December.
That's not Woodward's problem - guess what book has been in the top 5 or 6 since September - frequently number one? KILLING KENNEDY, by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard.
So two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Bob Woodward can't compete with a Fox News commentator.
Obviously something needs to be done to increase sales and maintain speaking fees.
http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2012-12-02/combined-print-and-e-book-nonfiction/list.html
http://protectthepostsintegrity.wordpress.com/
Bob Woodward made a classic mistake today. He told the truth. He publicised the fact that the WH berated him by telephone and then threatened by email that he would "regret" the choice to report that indeed Obama was responsible for dreaming up the sequester (although admitted to even by Jay The Carney).
Suddenly, he is persona non grata for the "intelligentsia" and needs to retire. Juan Williams was right - you do eat your own...
This is particularly funny given you wrote this in the wee hours in the morning, only to wake up to find that you do not, in fact, know what you're talking about.